Generally speaking, enclosures for electronic devices typically include some mechanism to allow for the insertion and removal of the electronic device from the enclosure. For example, the enclosure may include an opening for the device or a flexible section of the enclosure that may be deformed to allow insertion of the device. Such mechanisms, however, do not hold the electronic device securely within the enclosure, are difficult for users to manipulate, and require more time to insert and remove the electronic device.
Therefore, a need exists for an enclosure that securely holds an electronic device, is easy for users to manipulate, and facilitates quick insertion and removal of an electronic device.
A variety of devices, such as electronic device enclosures, retail checkout stations, gas station transaction terminals, etc., include a slot for swiping magnetic cards (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, charge cards, and/or membership cards). The device reads the information stored within the card's magnetic strip. In use, the operator aligns the card with the slot, inserts the card into the slots, and slides the card through the slot. Current slot configurations, however, make it difficult for the operator to achieve the appropriate alignment of the card with respect to the slot that is required before the card can then be inserted into the slot. Furthermore, current slot configurations suffer from undesirable friction and exit angles as the card is removed from the slot.
Therefore, a need exists for a magnetic card slot that facilitates insertion of a card and exhibits reduced friction and improved exit angles as the card is removed.